It actually isn't legal. The 20m restart is actually called a 20m optional kick. You can either play the ball to yourself by tapping the foot (the kick bit) or by hoofing it straight downfield and maybe hoping to get it into touch after a bounce (and recovering possession).

With you on this. Maybe next year.

Yes but seen as you can tap the ball anywhere between your toe and your knee shin included it is legal!

The referees also need to ENFORCE the rule whereby the player actually puts the ball on the ground and plays it with his foot. It might encourage more craft from dummy half rather than endless scoots.

Totally agree. Still teaching kids from 5 yrs old to play the ball with foot only to see the professionals continually not bothering. Would help to clean the ruck up imo and like you say maybe encourage more creative play

Totally agree and it would only take a couple of video referee decisions of not awarding trys because at the previous play the ball it wasn't played with the foot and all players would make sure they played the ball correctly plus the added bonus the players wouldn't know if the next play they were going to score and be refered to video so would make sure they played the ball

All well and good enforcing a correct PTB but the sloppy ones are often a countermeasure to all the wrestling and other interference to prevent the ball being played. Can't have one without the other. Ironic the suggestion comes from a Pies fan, the team that has done more than any other to ruin the PTB.

We'll be buggered then. In a top 5 of players that don't play the ball propey talsnoa Fonua and watts would all be in tbf

don't agree to be honest. At the end of the day no matter how much wrestling occurs on the floor you have to regain your feet. Majority of the time the player could play the ball with his foot but just doesn't bother as he knows the rule is never enforced. A few penalties against would soon sort it out. Would you fancy facing Radders after game if a loss came down to not playing a ball correctly. Time we stopped making excuses for not enforcing a simple rule

Who cares if someone actually plays the ball with their foot or not? We should be getting to grips with the tactics that slow the game down, not those that speed it up

If we have players having to play the ball with the foot properly then the officials absolutely have to enforce the defending team not to encroach before the ball actually is in the hands of the DH. That players rarely put their foot on the ball as mentioned above is to not only counter the shenanigans at the ruck but the encroachment of the defending teams that refs/tocuhies rarely enforce properly.
That narrowing down of the 10metres is what stunts free and open play as well as markers that are blatently not standing square.